To ask Her Majesty's Government what proposals they have to promote competitiveness and economic growth in the European Union over the next 10 years. [HL1073]

Building on the Prime Minister’s letter to the Swedish Prime Minister ahead of the October 2009 European Council, the Government on 19 January launched their plan for a new EU compact for jobs and growth. The paper sets out the need for strong, sustainable, and balanced growth to continue to raise the prosperity and improve the standard of living of Europe's citizens, and is available at: www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/329788/compact-jobs-growth.pdf.

It outlines six areas where action is needed, with policy proposals in each area:

fiscal policy that protects the recovery and supports sustainable growth;

creating new jobs and equipping our workforce with skills for the new economy;

growing the innovative industries of the future;

supporting business to take advantage of the single market;

opening up global markets to trade and investment; and

a robust and competitive financial services sector.

It also proposes a compact between the President of the Commission and the President of the European Council that would serve as a framework for harnessing Europe’s policies, such as those set out in the UK Government’s paper and the European Commission's EU 2020 proposals, to deliver jobs and growth.

The UK Government have also outlined their priorities for EU economic reform in a paper The Future of EU Competitiveness: From Economic Recovery to Sustainable Growth, published in June 2009 and available at www.berr.gov.uk/files/files51732.pdf. This sets out key areas where EU action can have the greatest impact to ensure EU businesses can compete in a global marketplace, and highlights the importance of an integrated approach to EU industrial policy and the future of the single market.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what conclusions they have drawn from the European Union Lisbon Strategy for economic growth regarding better economic co-operation in future European Union growth programmes. [HL1074]

The Lisbon strategy for growth and jobs has played an important part in promoting economic reform across Europe by providing: political impetus for EU and national policies; a toolkit for reform based on learning from the best performers in Europe; and co-ordination in areas where action or inaction in one member state would impact on citizens in another. As such, it was a factor in rising employment rates and productivity across Europe.

But the EU and its member states did not make enough progress quickly enough, and the progress that they did make has been set back by the economic crisis. The EU needs a new strategy that provides a coherent, high-profile framework for the steps needed at international, EU, national and regional levels to ensure that Europe plays its part in generating strong, sustainable and balanced growth.

The EU 2020 initiative provides an opportunity to develop such a strategy. Building on the Prime Minister’s letter to the Swedish Prime Minister ahead of the October 2009 European Council, the Government on 19 January launched their plans for a new EU compact for jobs and growth.

The paper sets out the need for strong, sustainable, and balanced growth to continue to raise the prosperity and improve the standard of living of Europe’s citizens, and is available at http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/329788/compact-jobs-growth.pdf.

To ask Her Majesty's Government what targets they have proposed to European Union states for economic growth in the European Union in the next ten years. [HL1075]

Building on the Prime Minister’s letter to the Swedish Prime Minister ahead of the October 2009 European Council, the Government on 19 January published their plans for a new European compact for jobs and growth, available at: www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/media/329788/compact-jobs-growth.pdf.

The paper argues that Europe should agree a compact that brings together EU institutions and member states in a common cause of generating strong, sustainable and balanced growth. The starting point for delivering this ambitious agenda should be a set of clear and measurable objectives around:

strengthening Europe’s long-run growth potential;

ensuring growth within Europe and its Member States is balanced;

increasing employment and labour market participation;

raising labour and capital productivity; and

facilitating investment.

Member states should define and establish measurable national targets that contribute to meeting these EU objectives, and be held publicly accountable for progress towards these targets through intergovernmental peer review.

Within this framework the paper proposes specific targets for action at the member state and EU-level:

national targets to reduce child poverty supported by greater cohesion between employment policy and social protection;

promoting greater participation and equality of women in the workplace by ensuring a new EU gender road map which includes agreement of targets to close the gender pay gap and increase the participation of women in public and private sectors; and

a target for all homes and businesses to have access to broadband at 2 Mb per second by the end of 2013.

The paper also suggests that an annual economic summit of EU leaders should be established to review progress against the objectives on the basis of reports from the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) and the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB).